During our investigation it became evident that there was an error made in the production process that we deeply regret. We will be taking the necessary steps to prevent this from happening in the future and apologize to our viewers.

That apology addresses the “Today” show’s failure to abridge accurately the conversation between Zimmerman and the dispatcher in this high-profile case. This is how the program portrayed a segment of that conversation:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.

And here is how it actually went down:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. Or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.

Dispatcher: OK, and this guy — is he black, white or Hispanic?

Zimmerman: He looks black.

“Error made in the production process”? What a flimsy, lame excuse. And completely unbelievable. Heads should roll over this. Not only that, but NBC should also be apologizing to George Zimmerman and his family for the doctored tape, which I would bet money was deliberately doctored before airing. Hey, they’ve pulled racially sensationalistic crap like this before.

As I’ve said before, when all is said and done and assuming Zimmerman isn’t put in jail for the rest of his life over killing Trayvon Martin, both he and his family should sue the mainstream media for the outright falsehoods they’ve reported and the unsubstantiated speculation some members of the press corps have shamelessly tried to pass off as “fact.” The dereliction of duty by “straight news reporters” on this case is simply staggering, and it is paramount that they be held to account.

The Obama administration is blaming Israel for the recent rise in global crude oil prices, according to a Sunday report in The World Tribune. The rise in fuel prices is deemed as harming the U.S. economy and has also hurt Obama in the polls as he seeks re-election in November.

The report cited a leading U.S. analyst, Robert Satloff, who returned from talks with Israeli officials.

Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said, according to The World Tribune, that the Israeli leadership saw Washington as attributing the higher gas prices to “Israel’s posturing” on Iran.

This is ridiculous. Blaming Israel for high gas prices is like blaming a man for finally standing up to the gang of thugs who’ve been threatening his neighborhood and family — “if only he wouldn’t provoke them, they’d leave us alone!” his spineless, querulous neighbors cry.

Iran’s government and military are dominated by the followers of a militant strain of Islam who see it as their duty to bring about the Islamic End Times in order to institute a global theocracy. Part and parcel of this is eternal hatred of and war against the Jews. They are developing nuclear weapons. Their leaders have openly speculated about how one bomb could destroy the Jewish state and have called for wiping Israel from the map. Recently, a high-ranking Iranian official produced an analysis justifying the annihilation of Israel under Islamic law.

And yet Israel is to blame for increased gas prices and harming the president’s reelection chances (1) because, for some strange reason, they make it clear they’re not going to let their people be slaughtered again and they take steps to do something about it.

How dare they??

Now, I’m not one of those who think the government has total control over fuel prices; external factors, such as the law of supply and demand the progressives so wish they could ignore, play a huge role. China’s appetite for oil is enormous, and they’re buying a lot. And the threat of disruptions to global supply —created by Iran’s maniac actions— also drive up prices because of the increased risk in extracting and transporting oil from the Gulf.

BUT…

The administration’s policies still have a major effect: the open hostility toward exploration and extraction on federal lands; the slow-walking of permits already in the works; the refusal to issue new ones; and the refusal to obtain oil from friendly, stable, next-door neighbors. All these affect fuel prices because the price is as much about expectations of future supply as it is about current stocks. A more liberal, rational, and intelligent resource-development policy that would use safe modern technology would inevitably cause a dampening of prices because of the expectation of greater, more secure future supply.

BUT…

We can’t do that, because Obama is dependent on radical environmentalists for donations and campaign help, and his administration has invested too much (literally) in “alternative energy” to back away. So, the president needs a scapegoat. Now, who’s handy? Hmmm…

Enter the Jews Israelis. Tailor-made for President Short-Pants’ needs.